CBE social media tells the story of the College through the people, ideas and partnerships that make our community distinctive. Our goal is to build relationships, celebrate our community and demonstrate the impact of CBE teaching, research and engagement.
Use this toolkit for social media strategy, content and accessibility best practices, publishing guidance and helpful resources.
Social Media at CBE
MarCom manages the College’s primary social media channels, including Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube. College-level channels prioritize content with broad relevance to CBE audiences while aiming for balanced representation across departments, programs, centers and initiatives.
Priority content may include:
- Student, faculty, staff and alumni accomplishments
- Research, teaching and innovation
- College priorities and major initiatives
- Community and industry partnerships
- Recruitment and advancement priorities
- Interdisciplinary work and stories with broad College relevance
Departments with their own social media accounts are encouraged to designate a primary account manager and create content that serves their audiences while following CBE and UW communications standards.
Social Media Templates
CBE provides Canva templates for common social media needs, including people features, awards, events, opportunities and general announcements.
Social media templates are maintained in the Brand & Design Toolkit so there is one central source for CBE templates and brand assets.
Strategy & Best Practices
Content Strategy
Start with your audience and purpose. Social media works best when content gives people something interesting, useful or meaningful rather than simply broadcasting announcements.
Before publishing, ask:
- Who is this content for?
- What will they care about?
- Why is this worth their attention?
- Is social media the right channel?
- Which platform is most appropriate?
Whenever possible:
- Tell stories rather than only promoting information.
- Highlight people, experiences, research and impact.
- Use strong, authentic photography and video.
- Share useful opportunities, resources and ideas.
- Repost strong content from departments, student organizations and partners rather than recreating it unnecessarily.
- Use tags and collaborative posts to strengthen connections and extend reach when appropriate.
Writing for Social Media
Keep captions clear, conversational and easy to scan. Lead with the most interesting or important information rather than a long introduction.
Our voice should be:
- Professional but approachable
- Curious and optimistic
- Inclusive
- Student-centered
- Forward-looking
- Authentic
Avoid:
- Corporate jargon
- Clickbait
- Overly promotional language
- Excessive emojis or hashtags
- Long blocks of text
Use short paragraphs and make the key message easy to understand quickly, particularly for people reading on mobile devices.
Social Media Accessibility
- Add alt text to images. Describe the essential content and purpose of the image.
- Caption video content. Review automatically generated captions for accuracy before publishing.
- Use accessible graphics. Maintain sufficient color contrast and keep text large enough to read comfortably on mobile devices.
- Don’t rely on color alone. Important information should also be communicated through text or other visual cues.
- Write for readability. Use plain language, short paragraphs and sentence case.
- Design for mobile. Make sure text, images and video framing remain legible on smaller screens.
- Use inclusive language and imagery. Aim for thoughtful representation across the breadth of the CBE community.
Publishing to Social Media
Use the guidance below when preparing content for a CBE or department social media account.
Prepare Your Post
Choose the strongest photos, video or graphics for your post. Whenever possible, start with authentic photography or video rather than creating a graphic simply because you are posting on social media.
A complete post will typically include:
- Photo, video or graphic
- Alt text for images
- A concise caption
- Relevant tags or collaborators
- A link or call to action, when appropriate
- A small number of relevant hashtags, when useful
Before publishing, confirm that:
- Names, dates, locations and links are correct
- Images include alt text
- Video includes accurate captions
- Graphics are readable on a phone
- The audience and desired action are clear
Common Image Sizes
Instagram & Facebook
- Portrait feed image: 1080 × 1350 px
- Stories and vertical video: 1080 × 1920 px
- Portrait: 1080 × 1350 px
- Landscape: 1200 × 627 px
Use JPG for standard photography and PNG when a graphic includes text or other sharp design elements.
Platform requirements change over time, so confirm current specifications within the platform when creating specialized content.
Publishing with Buffer
Buffer is the preferred scheduling tool for participating CBE accounts. It allows departments to prepare and schedule their own content while supporting shared publishing workflows.
To publish through Buffer:
- Select the appropriate social media channel.
- Upload your image or video.
- Add the caption and relevant links or tags.
- Add alt text to images.
- Review the post before scheduling or sending it for approval.
Some collaborative, tagging and platform-specific features may need to be completed directly in Instagram, LinkedIn or another social platform rather than through Buffer.
If you need Buffer access, training or help publishing a post, submit a request through the CBE help form.
Tools & Resources
- Brand & Design Toolkit — Social media templates, Canva access, logos and CBE brand guidance
- CBE Image Library — College photography for social media and other communications
- UW Visual Asset Collection — University photography and visual assets
- Canva for UW — Canva access information and tutorials
- Buffer — Scheduling and publishing for participating CBE social media accounts
- Linktree — Used when relevant links need to be shared from Instagram content
Need Help?
Have a story, event, achievement or opportunity you’d like considered for CBE social media? Need help with account access, publishing or social media strategy? Reach out to MarCom and we’ll help determine the best next step.